If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

As you can see, I grew a ton by myself in 6 1/2 years but only the welders, trucks, and jcb are new or less the 10 years old. Good deals are best found when you DON'T need it. I don't buy things unless they are a great deal and some good deals, I rarely buy I need!

Here are some things I learned for price staring out:
Hougan drill + Plasma cutter > Ironworker - you can build drilling jigs for alum and s/s
Make friends at welding supplier, I got Maxstar 150 STH for under cost because of last year model
Know what you need, not what you want
Get to know people at used machinery places - they can usually tell you whats good/bad
I needed a forklift that could handle 4-5k lbs but I needed it to work in mud, and I needed a skid steer. SO I bought the JCB 520 which does both, saved over $10,000

Hougans are mag drills. Much easier to lift a mag drill to the top of a section of steel than it is to lift an ungainly piece of steel weighing Gawd only knows how much onto a drill press table. Looking through the list of tools and tooling it appears that Country Metals is using a Bridgeport for milling duties.

Forget the newspaper and phone books. I wasted over $10,000 with these advertising mediums over the years and never made it back. Most people just go online when they want something. Use CraigsList and Google Places.

I also have a rule...... Don't buy it if it's not going to make you money.

i follow that more than I used to, I would impulse some things or "need" it really more than I did although some pieces worked out eventually. I would pocket the money and buy as needed when practical, simple things first. If you cant help yourself treat to a new clamp or extra walmart grinder to save change out time. Leave the big ticket items till you cant do without.

As a rule, when I am doing one off I try to make do, when I start doing production or repetition then I start thinking tools. You got to be realistic about crap you are rarely going to do again. There is a time to dig a ditch, there is a time to go to the trouble to rent, there is a time to buy, whil it seems like a bit of work at the time sometimes its cheaper to dig a little.

That to me is too much money since I bought my bridgeport used for $2,000, some tooling. No digital readout. Learn to read, then learn to be fast!

You could basically turn a hougan/mag drill into a drill press, you just build a custom stand and that set-up works extremely well when drilling out 2x2 tube steel and angle iron.

A way I started was to go directly to shops that could want the work like a machine shop and do a very small job for free just to get in. I do not pay for advertising, only word of mouth and miles on my boots hitting the pavement. I did design my own website myself which mainly landed my first huge account. The name of the game is not pushing another company out, it is being there when they get pist off at the current contractor and you being remembered.

There is a difference is knowing what your doing, and doing what you know. I have had a lot of jobs where the maintenance staff is working next to me on something I have never done before and they say, its a good thing we called you because we had no idea what to do.

Having a great background helps as well. I am not a stand around kind of person, get in, get done, BS later. As a teenager I use to go work for people for free+lunch just to learn what they were doing and how I can do it later in life.

My first full year I made $3,000 after expenses and taxes.... Second year was around $7,000, The third year is when I started making enough to live.

If you cant help yourself treat to a new clamp or extra walmart grinder to save change out time. Leave the big ticket items till you cant do without.

As a rule, when I am doing one off I try to make do, when I start doing production or repetition then I start thinking tools.

Buy at a reasonable price, and like Sberry said, indulge from time to time.

I have over 50 vise grip clamps, yeah that's a lot. I did not buy vise grip brand. I did not buy cheapo brand, I found some in 2 packs, clamps w/ pads at tractor supply for $10 that were thick steel and some at a store in a flea market that were points, not pads for $7 each. They all still work great years later. But every time I went into tractor supply, I would buy another 2 pack.

I also only buy Metabo grinders, they are expensive but a local welding supplier sells them on a deal once a year, buy 100 grinding wheels and get the grinder free. Its not the greatest deal of the century, but you save quite a bit. I have never killed a metabo grinder in 10 years. I also have 9 grinders because I have 1 set in truck, 1 set in shop, each set comprised of 1 grinder wheel, 1 sander, 1 wire wheel, 1 cutoff wheel + tungsten 120 grit sanding wheel in shop.

alright well here is the situation i am in now. I have a guy who wants to buy some manifolds for around $450. x4pcs I have $175 in materials leaving me with $275 prophet. if i go and get the flanges cut i assume that would cost me around $150 per unit (2 flanges) cutting down my prophets greatly.

i plan on doing a lot of custom automotive like this to get me started and i will be needing a fair amount of flanges. i have access to a full size sheer and break if needed (i would have to pay $50/hr to use them) but i have no way of cutting the flanges and making them look decent.

what tool would accomplish this for me the best? my plasma cutter isent big enough to cut 1/2" aluminum.

should i be looking into a mill? and if thats my best option what should i be looking for in the mill?

alright well here is the situation i am in now. I have a guy who wants to buy some manifolds for around $450. x4pcs I have $175 in materials leaving me with $275 prophet. if i go and get the flanges cut i assume that would cost me around $150 per unit (2 flanges) cutting down my prophets greatly.

i plan on doing a lot of custom automotive like this to get me started and i will be needing a fair amount of flanges. i have access to a full size sheer and break if needed (i would have to pay $50/hr to use them) but i have no way of cutting the flanges and making them look decent.

what tool would accomplish this for me the best? my plasma cutter isent big enough to cut 1/2" aluminum.

should i be looking into a mill? and if thats my best option what should i be looking for in the mill?

I would say find someone who can waterjet cut them. Trying to make intricate shapes on a mill is time consuming unless it's a cnc machine. Then it will be a big up front expense & do you know how to program one? Even if you own a machine you still have a labor cost to make the parts.

Most big ticket machines need to be run a lot to make it profitable. To use a high dollar machine a few hours & then let it sit until the next time is not smart business.